When I was climbing the Fortune 100 corporate ladder one of the benefits I enjoyed most in working for a multi-billion dollar businesses was the access to training and development programs. I love to learn and while being a small business owner provides multiple opportunities to learn by doing, I miss the structured learning experience that comes through companies with deep resources.

Through the generosity of Goldman Sachs there is an opportunity for small business owners to get a well designed learning experience through their 10,000 Small Businesses Program. I am a recent graduate of this program and am pleased to report that it was one of the best learning experiences I have ever encountered. This includes the time spent on my two year MBA from Brigham Young University.

What I liked most about the program was the opportunity to pull up out of the day-to-day grind of running your own company and get some help thinking strategically about your business. The end result of this program was the development of a 5-year growth plan that emerged through a well structured series of workshops that really challenged me to think hard about our business. Because of this program, I am smarter about what we have do to and more confident that we are heading in the right direction.

I would encourage any small business owner who loves their business and loves to learn to check out www.SoCal10KSB.com to learn more.

Last night I attended a terrific SCORE sponsored presentation by Mark Mikelat, a business growth consultant with Building Aspirations, titled “Sell More of What You Already Sell.” I took the time to attend this presentation because I am always looking for ways to improve on our goal at Design Dynamics to help our customers sell more through the graphics and signage we produce.

We believe that our value to our customers is in the signage solutions we provide that help identify their business to their customers and potential customers. If people and businesses don’t know that you exist, you can’t do business with them. We help our customers inform their customers of what they do. If customers don’t understand what you do, then why should they do business with you? We also help influence. When they see value in your business offering, then they are more likely to buy from you.

What I appreciated most about Mark’s presentation is the simple reminder that people have problems to solve and wants to be met. As businesses, we need to be clear about what people are looking for, know what it is they want, then be the solution to their pain. His direct statement that “nobody cares about your product, they care about their pain” spoke loudly to me. We are proud of the great graphics and signage we produce; yet, Mark’s seminar reminded me that people don’t seek out to buy signage, they buy signage for what it can do for them.

In his closing thoughts, Mark shared that his unique selling proposition is “extremely practical.” From what I observed last night as well as from my reflections after a review of my notes, Mark is extremely practical. Should you be interested in learning from Mark as I have, you can find his company at http://buildingaspirations.com/

Our #1 strategy is to take great care of our customers so they keep coming back and they refer us to others. This commitment to helping our customers obtain visually compelling graphics that solves business problems drives everything we do. The number one measure of our success in confirming how well we deliver on our strategy is when our customers bless us with their repeat business. We consider it the highest honor our company can receive every time a valued customer chooses to work again with us.

It is in the spirit of consistently doing quality work for our customers everyday that we announce our selection from Business Leader Publications as one of the Top 300 Small Businesses of the West. The award honors “dynamic companies that have exhibited strong historical financial results such as one and five year revenue growth, have a positive impact in the local economy, and are making a difference not only in business but also in the greater community.”

Our selection as #81 out of this years list of Top 300 small businesses is an honor that we attribute to our talented team of graphic professionals who work hard everyday to provide our customers with the right graphic and signage solutions that produces results. Should you want to learn more about this award go to http://www.businessleaderevents.com/nominations/Top_300_Small_Businesses. Should you want help becoming award winning yourself contact us at 1-800-94DESIGN for a no obligation marketing and signage consultation.

When we moved to our new Irvine location one of the investments we wanted to make was in a new phone system. We found a great telecom service provider in Dreamtelecom Solutions. They not only brought us an incredible new phone system to work with, they helped us run our Cat 5e cabling needed to get us online and operational. It is easy to take for granted how important your phone is to your business until it goes down. You also don’t appreciate how much better you can be as a company because of the quality of phone system until you make the decision to upgrade. We made that decision and are pleased with the results. Dreamtelecom Solutions not only provided us with a great phone system, they entrusted us with the opportunity to help them promote their terrific company. At Design Dynamics we love doing business with great service providers. Call us at 949-870-3320 should you be in the market for a new phone system and will help you get connected.

Brand is important and because of this your brand logo image matters. Recently, we did some work for AHA Image Studios a digital media marketing company that had upgraded the design of their logo to reinforce their focus on visual persuasion. As you look at the before and after photos of their window graphics you will see how the right font, the addition of a little color and the right tag line can really change the experience you have with their logo.

To further reinforce their brand you will see in this next picture how AHA is extending the power of their brand identity through their offices through the addition of dimensional lettering in a polished aluminum.

While having a fun person greet you when you walk into a place of business is key, having a reinforcing graphic helps connect people visually to your brand. This visual connection can be carried through in the directional signage you use to help people navigate your facility.

At Design Dynamics we know how important your visual identity is to your business success and are skilled at helping you select the right materials to showcase your brand.

The pictures below offer a simple side-by-side comparison of the exact same retail environment offering quality merchandise at affordable prices. While the only difference is obvious when laid out for comparison purposes it has been our experience that business owners and marketing professionals often take for granted just how important great images are to creating a great environment. Next time you enter your place of business pause to appreciate what you are saying through the imagery you have in place. Better yet ask your customers and employees what they notice about the graphics on display. If you like what they are saying then you have done well and should stay the course. If you aren’t pleased with what is being shared with you contact us and will help get you on a better path. Trust us when we say it will be some of the funnest work you will have done in awhile. We can be easily reached at 800-94DESIGN.

Sometimes you have to go to “plan B” when your initial approach doesn’t work. A typical hanging method involving standard sized banners is rope with well tied knots through well placed grommets. Rope will work over 90% of the time on simple banners hung between poles. Unfortunately for this project of the week the rope technique did not work as needed no matter how well tied it was. The issue was two fold, first the Santa Ana winds in this area were stronger than expected placing a lot of unanticipated wind pressure on the banner which in turn stretched the banner and the rope creating unflattering gathers in what needed to be a smooth hanging banner that is intended to be a photo backdrop. When we got the call, we went to Plan B to help our customer get the look they were planning on. You will see how a simple investment in toggle bolts on our part corrected the problem. The key here is the banner will still stretch through high winds, but now the customer has a simple tightening method to restore the desired look to this tool for helping their business be more successful. Should you have concerns about how your graphics are performing whether they were done by us or someone else, give us a call and will see what we can do to improve the performance of your promotional investments.

One of the never-ending challenges facing all us during this great recession is the need to save money wherever we can. One of the easiest ways to reduce expenses is to leave graphics up for longer periods of time. While this saves promotional dollars it also undermines the intent of your promotional investment. When people become so accustomed to your visual being what it is that they stop noticing it, you in turn start losing your ability to identify, inform and influence through your graphics. At Design Dynamics, we are not advocating the premature replacement of quality graphics. What we are encouraging you to do is to be thoughtful on how long you allow your graphics to be displayed. If you have questions on how best to manage the timing of your graphics and signage, call us at 949-870-3320 and will come by and do a site survey. The end result of our survey will be an analysis of what is working, where you are getting stuck and what you could be doing differently for better business results.

One of the critical success factors behind every effective management team is the ability to measure what is being done. Improving performance is more than clearly assigning responsibility for tasks and decisions. It involves setting clear measures to stated objectives; monitoring process, progress, and results; designing feedback loops into work. The right signage from Design Dynamics can help with all of this. Check out this weeks project of the week done for a performance oriented call center that knows the value of their people and has a strong desire to help them be successful in their jobs.